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Bombay Sapphire Private Evening in Rosedale

Published by Anita

Some of the spices that go into Bombay Sapphire. It's also etched into every bottle.

I have to admit, I get invited to some pretty cool things. I LOVE IT! The latest adventure was a little lesson in sophisticated entertaining by Bombay Sapphire Gin courtesy of Ian Barr of Rocket XL (I want – I got loves you Ian). The group was about 40 people including familiar faces from twitter (Rannie, Sass who is oh so sassy, Jaime Woo, Andrew Louis, Suresh, Marie) and the fashion world.

Bombay Sapphire Private Evening in Rosedale

The pool people. The pool.

The venue, 49 Nanton Avenue, the former home of Ted Rogers Sr. It was incredible to say the least. The Globe and Mail has a great slideshow from when the house went up for sale. It looks a little different with the new owners, it’s spectacular. The backyard area is the same and that pool is the most fabulous thing I’ve ever seen; non chlorinated and a lovely 80-85 degrees. Yes people, it was heated to perfection. I wanted to strip down and jump in.

Teaching the art of sophisticated entertaining was Merlin Griffiths, Master Mixologist and Bombay Sapphire Global Brand Ambassador. Merlin is English and of course, I was swooning over the accent. I’m such a sucker for accents.

Merlin Griffiths, Master Mixologist and Bombay Sapphire Global Brand Ambassador

Award-winning UK mixologist, Merlin Griffiths has the enviable role of global brand ambassador for Bombay Sapphire Gin travelling the world demonstrating the art of mixology and the many ways in which Bombay Sapphire can be used to create incredible cocktails.

On the food preparation side was Sebastien Centner, Senior Partner, Eatertainment.

Sebastien Centner, Senior Partner, Eatertainment

Sebastien Centner is the Senior Partner of Eatertainment Hospitality. Eatertainment has created and continues to operate some of Toronto’s most celebrated (and celebrity-frequented) restaurants including The Bloor Street Diner and Panorama Lounge, winner of Where Magazine’s “Best Bar in Torontoâ€ award. In 2001, Sebastien launched Eatertainment Special Events & Catering, which has grown to be one of Canada’s top event planning and catering companies and was awarded â€˜Best Caterer in Canada’ by the Canadian Event Industry Association.

Sebastien and Merlin brought us into the huge kitchen and created drinks and food. Merlin provided some drop dead simple recipes for drinks. Sebastien prepared some great party foods and included some presentation tricks to make visually appealing. There were samples of the food and drinks passed around to all to enjoy.

Sass stirring a martini

Bombay Sapphire has a YouTube page that has recipes by another Mater Mixologist who alas isn’t my fav Merlin. There is also a Bombay Sapphire Facebook page. I’ve been a Bombay Sapphire drinker for awhile now, ha ha, back in the Gin and Juice days.

View the slideshow for all the images.

I want: Givenchy Spring 2009 shoes

Published by Anita

I waxed poetic about some of the Givenchy Spring 2009 shoes. I bypassed the cowboy inspired stuff as too kitsch. At the Italy at Your Feet VIP Cocktail I saw them up close and personal. I’m a fan, they are drool worthy.

I’m also a big fan of these mesh ones. Hot!

They are at Browns Bloor Street right now.

geekiviews: Nikon S230

Published by Anita

Nikon S230

Strategic Ampersand provided me with a Nikon S230 to evaluate for two weeks. I’m never really pleased with the performance of point and shoot cameras but it’s the cruel bargain I have made with myself. A digital SLR is just too big to carry around to events and that trumps any idea I have about owning one. I like something small and compact. I use a Pentax right now and I have a bit of a love hate relationship with it. I hate it more than my old Pentax. I broke my old Pentax but we had a great relationship. I was able to take consistently good pictures with the camera and I haven’t been able to replicate that feeling with the new Pentax. I was hoping the Nikon S230 might return me to those carefree days of great photos.

The big claim to fame for the S230 is the 3 inch touch screen. I’m usually not a touch screen fan but I was curious to see what the technology was like. Some of the other features include:

Choice of colours
10.0 megapixel resolution
3x zoom
Electronic VR image stabilization
3-in. touch screen high-resolution LCD
ISO 2000 capability
VR Image
Stabilization
Scene Auto Selector
Motion Detection
Smart Portrait System

A great photo with the S230

There are a lot of features on this camera that I wouldn’t use and didn’t. There are some limited photo editing capabilities like the In-Camera Red-Eye Fix or the Paint functions. I do my photo editing in Photoshop and I don’t think I’d ever use those features on a camera. I tend to stay away from the preset features on cameras and stick to a customized setup.

The touch screen interface wasn’t bad. It was a bit slow at times moving scrolling through photos. It has an iPhone like experience for viewing photos. The shutter speed was much faster than my Pentax and I enjoyed the increased response time. The camera itself is light and compact. Playing with the autofocus features was interesting. This is where Nikon did a good job of integrating the touch screen with features. Using your fingers you can move the focus to where you need or increase the size of the autofocus area. That was the neatest feature of the camera.

A bad photo with the S230

Overall, I’m not a fan of the camera. It really boils down to the fact that I can’t stand the screen. The material used to make the screen durable and scratch resistant is also what makes taking pictures with this camera unbearable. It’s never clear enough to see if the picture turned out. When I take a photo with my Pentax I know exactly if the picture turned out or not. The display is crystal clear and there is no issues determining image quality.

The Nikon doesn’t allow that understandably. The images are always slightly grainy and I was never sure if it was the photo or the screen. It was only until I uploaded the photos to my computer did I find out their quality, which is way too late. When the pictures turned out they were amazing and when they didn’t they were bad. I’m sure this has more to do with me than the camera, but I just couldn’t take the pictures I wanted with the S230 that well. Day 3 of |FAT| I used the S230 to take my runway shots and I wasn’t happy with them at all. The camera doesn’t work for taking runway shots at all. No good for my line of work.

If I had the opportunity to evaluate a Nikon camera again I would definitely try another model as I wasn’t happy with the touch screen. The Nikon S230 retails for $239.95. Not a bad price.

i want: Melissa + Zaha Hadid

Published by Anita

Melissa + Zaha Hadid at Holt Renfrew.

Melissa Plastic Dreams - Zaha Hadid

I love the look of these Melissa sandals which I mentioned awhile back on the blog. They are available at Holt Renfrew.

EDIT: (May 9, 2009) – Saw the shoes in Holt Renfrew. They retail $295

image: Highsnobette.com

Greta Constantine Fall 2009 – 2010 Lookbook

Published by Anita

Greta Constantine Fall 2009 – 2010 Lookbook

Greta Constantine Fall 2009 - 2010 Lookbook

Since the lookbook has been out I’ve noticed a little bit of misinformation about the Greta Constantine Boys that I would like to clear up: Greta Constantine is not Project Runway Canada alums. Stephen Wong entered the contest as an individual not as Greta Constantine which includes his partner Kirk Pickersgill. Just clearing that up for you.

i want: Studded Sandals from Browns Shoes

Published by Anita

Studded Sandals from Browns Shoes

I saw a women trying on these sandals at the Italy at Your Feet VIP Cocktail. They look so good on that I asked her if my photographer, Paul Baik, could take a photo.

Photos Taken by Paul Baik for I want – I got, www.paulbaikphoto.com

Holt Renfrew’s Magenta Girls

Published by Anita

Holt Renfrew Magenta Girls

I wasn’t able to see the Holt Renfrew Magenta Girls in person and I was very disappointed. I was busy the days they were touring areas of the city spreading the word about Holt Renfrew.

Holt Renfrew Magenta Girls

I know a couple of the Magenta Girls so I was getting regular updates on their excursions. I saw the facebook group photos and some of them were so cute. They also made their way down to The Financial District, my hood.

Holt Renfrew Magenta Girls

They chatted up the Boys from Bay Street and played on the TD Centre cows. Those cows are damn popular. Even I have a picture of one I took at my desk in the office.

Holt Renfrew Magenta Girls

Hopefully I will be free to check out their next excursion into the streets of Toronto. I want their outfits!

images courtesy of Holt Renfrew.

Italy at Your Feet VIP Cocktail

Published by Anita

I was invited to the “Italy at Your Feetâ€ VIP cocktail, presented by Browns, the Italian Trade Commission (I.C.E) and ANCI (Associazione Nazionale Calzaturieri Italiani) by Fashion Magazine. It was hosted by Browns at the flagship Bloor street location. It was a great excuse to celebrate Italian shoes, drink Prosecco and eat delicious, delicious prosciutto.

Italy at Your Feet, FASHION Magazine's VIP cocktail

An attendee tries some some studded sandals

Interviewing Browns Staff for Cosmo TV

Tanya Kim and friend

Me and Adrian Mainella

Danielle of Final Fashion

Models working it

Italy at Your Feet, FASHION Magazine's VIP cocktail by Paul Baik

Andrew and Maha

Italy at Your Feet, FASHION Magazine's VIP cocktail by Paul Baik

See the complete slideshow

Photos Taken by Paul Baik for I want – I got
www.paulbaikphoto.com

LG Innovators’ Ball Femme Fatale Photos

Published by Anita

I was invited to the LG Innovators’ Ball Femme Fatale: An Evening of Intrigue. The party was held at the Ontario Science Center and although the TTC ride back home was a complete disaster and took way longer than expected it was a really great time. I also ran into an old high school friend who I literally haven’t seen in like 15 years.

When we arrived we were sent wandering around the Science Center before some nice man with a walkie talkie grabbed us and escorted us down to the check in desk. Danielle had forgotten her ticket but we didn’t need them. It was funny because both of our names were highlighted on the sheet. We were LG VIPs (very nice) and had access to the lounge. It was a raised area with seating towards the back of the main room with easy access to a bar. It was nice to sit down towards the end of the night because there wasn’t any seats otherwise.

It was a black tie event and most of the women wore gowns of some sort and the men were in suits. A few were in tuxedos which I loved. I wore a dress that is a knock off Lanvin and my Chloe bootie. I think I actually saw someone with

LG Innovators' Ball Femme Fatale: An Evening of Intrigue

Sitting on glowing keys

See the version Danielle took.

The view from the LG VIP lounge

The Telus vault girls

Danielle and Carolyn

LG Innovators' Ball Femme Fatale: An Evening of Intrigue

Loved the napkins

I loved this woman's dress a lot. I had to get a picture with her

Acting silly in cutout characters

Danielle, Alex and me

There is a collection of official photos from the event which you can view.

Take More Photos has a photo of me with Danielle at Innovators Ball among his set.

Freestyle Photoshoot with Tanja-Tiziana and Friends

Published by Anita

Friend and great Photographer, Tanja-Tiziana occassionaly holds these events she called Freestyle Photoshoots.

A a huge no-rules photo shoot where everyone gets in front of the camera(s). Make it what you will. Be prepared to meet new people and even be photographed with them at some point.

The latest one took place in Christie Pits. I came with Shalome and Ryan aka The Grumpy Owl. I had my Chocolate Bossa Dress on because I didn’t have many pictures of it. I busted out the parasol because it would look cool. This is some of the results of the shoot. It was a lot of fun and I have to thank Tanja-Tiziana, Nancy Paiva and Justin Soegandi for so many great photos.